Salvage Yards

Salvage yards in Arkansas are affected by various environmental regulations, depending on the activities
conducted in the yard. These regulations are to prevent the release of liquid hazardous materials such as oils and
lead-acid battery contents into the soils, groundwater, and surface waters and the release of air conditioning refrigerants
such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere. Contamination can occur at many stages of salvage operations. Soil,
groundwater, and air contamination can occur during vehicle disassembly and fluid drainage operations. Contamination can also
result from the improper storage of parts, fluids, and refrigerants.

ADEQ Enterprise Services staff offers free, non-regulatory assistance to auto salvage yard operators to aid in understanding and complying with environmental regulations. ADEQ has compiled helpful information in the Environmental Guidebook for Arkansas's Automotive Dismantlers and Recyclers. The following information about National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) is from the guidebook:

NPDES Permit and SWPPP Frequently Asked Questions

Your facility has a primary or secondary Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC) Code of 5015 or 5093 (for
example, if your primary source of income is the sale of
used vehicles [SIC Code 5521] but your second most
important source of income is the sale of used parts
[SIC Code 5015])

Rain (stormwater) runs off your business property or
could run off the property to any ditch, canal, stream,
or lake or to a city storm sewer (different from sanitary
sewer) through a curb, gutter, ditch, drain inlet,
wetland, or other surface water body

Specifies appropriate Best Management Practices (BMPs) or pollution control

Measures to reduce the discharge of pollutants in
stormwater runoff and provide for periodic review
of the SWPPP

The SWPPP outlines your plans to continually ensure that
potential pollutants are not exposed to rain or stormwater.
The goal is to eliminate or minimize the chances of
polluting stormwater that would leave your facility. You will
be expected to review the success of your SWPPP and to
make changes to the SWPPP as needed.

All facilities are required to sample once per year.
All industries are required to sample for Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
and pH, but some SIC codes require additional sampling.
SIC code 5093 also
requires the following additional samples: Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD),
Oil & Grease (O&G), Total Aluminum, Total Copper, Total Iron, Total Lead,
and Total Zinc. The samples must be analyzed by a certified
laboratory. The measurement must be taken for pH within 15 minutes
of collecting the sample. For additional information
regarding sampling, please reference the
Industrial
Stormwater General Permit Section 3.

All facilities are required to submit an Annual Report, even
if monitoring requirements have been waived, that
includes findings from site inspections (including visual
monitoring of outfalls) and any corrective action plans
written under Part 3.11.2. Stormwater Annual Reports (SWAR) must be completed by January 31
each year for the previous January-December reporting
period. The report does not need to be submitted to ADEQ, but maintained on-site with the previous year’s
sampling results. The documents will be reviewed at the time of inspection.

Stormwater DMRs are also required. Beginning December 21, 2016, Arkansas NPDES permittees are required
to submit discharge monitoring reports (DMRs) electronically using the web-based tool NetDMR. Permittees
can complete reports that are specific to their permit limits and transfer them to the EPA through a
secure internet application.